We have a tinker

Black hole
Corvin Zahn
Ute Kraus
Dipl.-Phys. Dr. Ute Kraus and Corvin Zahn working as an astrophysicist at the Un
iversity of Tübingen.
Preface
ALBERT EINSTEIN relativity theory represents our ideas of space and time complet
ely on its head. Clocks run at different speeds, light running around the curve,
and the losing effort in the school learned of geometry theorems to be valid. B
LACK HOLES, probably the most mysterious objects in our universe bend to bend ti
me and space in their neighborhood so much that this would be measured with a po
cket watch and a meter stick. On Earth, however, these effects are hardly felt,
and here the matter not simply packed tightly enough. Our story takes you into a
fictional future in which a black hole is discovered in the vicinity of the ear
th. An unmanned space mission to verify Einstein's theories on the ground. You a
ssume the leadership of the control center, which will monitor the mission. To u
nderstand the strange properties of the black hole better, you build with the at
tached paper models, a model of curved space around him. In the course of your c
orrespondence with the equally fictional physicist Deepta Panchakshari you see t
hat this space has properties that contradict our spatial thinking completely. W
hat you have in your hands is a puzzle. It is a puzzle at several levels: Each m
odel is a puzzle made of cardboard, the text is a puzzle of information, reports
, letters and conversations, the term "curved space" is an important piece of th
e puzzle for understanding black holes. A puzzle requires that you take the item
s in the hand, just looking at, playing with them, and takes the necessary time
to discover structures and patterns. This is exactly the attitude that is needed
for our subject. The aim is to develop a concept of something that is up to the
limits of our imagination. And such a concept of something new must be put toge
ther like a puzzle of different ideas, comparisons, contradictions and attempts
at solution.
All rights reserved c 2004 Corvin Zahn, Ute Kraus picture credits see page 30 Co
ntact and Information: http://www.tempolimit-lichtgeschwindigkeit.de printing an
d distribution: Bears Publisher Warmbronn Hauptstr. 47, D-71229 Leonberg-Warmbro
nn Phone: 07152-389106
Renningen, 22/03/2004
C.Z.
U.K.
Orders directly at the bear Publisher Warmbronn or via our website
PS: The instructions for the paper models you see in the text.
1 Black Holes
Rigel is one of the brightest stars in the sky. On a clear night, he is clearly
visible to the naked eye, it is located in the constellation Orion very bottom r
ight (picture right). Rigel is a few million years ago from a gas cloud, which z
usammenballte under the action of their own gravity ever closer to her heart so
close and hot, was that there thermonuclear fusion reaction ignited the gas to g
low began and Rigel appeared as a new star in appearance . Rigel is a giant star
: Compared with the sun, which is a very average star, he has 20 times as much m
ass, 60 times the diameter and the hundred-thousand-energy emissions. This enorm
ous energy output, a giant star but not long maintained. After a few million yea
rs Rigel will have exhausted its nuclear fuel. The fusion reactions will then en
d in a tremendous supernova explosion; Rigel alone will briefly be as bright as
an entire galaxy. In a supernova the outer gaseous envelope of the star is eject
ed far into interstellar space, where she is a hundred thousand years to see a b
right supernova remnant (bottom). The core of the giant exploding star collapses
, however. If, as is likely to be in Rigel is the case, more than about twice th
e mass of the sun contains, is unstoppable and the collapse of the core is small
er and more dense: it creates a black hole.
4
5
2 A black hole in our neighborhood?
The sun is one of a hundred billion stars in the great spiral galaxy. In the Mil
ky Way there are many burned-out stars, including an estimated one billion black
holes. It would be conceivable that even in the vicinity of the solar system is
a black hole and may one day be discovered ...
PICTURE-Journal
21/01/2012
Monsters, threatening the earth!
Two hours ago, discovered black holes near the Earth! Mercilessly swallows every
thing! Our reporter interviewed the discoverer Exclusive!
The year 2012 begins with a scientific sensation: 21/01/2012 Heidelberger mornin
g with our immediate cosmic neighborhood.€The European Space Agency ESA has anno
unced the immediate deployment of an unmanned spacecraft, will provide fundament
al new insights. This mission is a generation project: Until the probe reaches t
he black hole will take decades, and then the first data to be returned to Earth
, they need another 12 years for the return.
A black hole in our neighborhood
A black hole 12 light years away, is reported in the latest issue of the journal
Nature. Twelve light-years is the distance that light travels in twelve years (
light travels with about 300 000 kilometers per second, ie, with about a billion
miles an hour off). The newly discovered black hole is three times as far away
from the solar system like our neighbor, the star Alpha Centauri, and is there-
IMAGE: Professor Seeger is, danger to mankind? Could the world be swallowed up?
Prof. S.: The black hole is located about 12 light years. This is seen astronomi
cally both extremely close and for us scientists a stroke of luck, but the earth
can not be dangerous. PICTURE: With such a short distance our readers want to k
now whether it is approaching the Earth. Can you say something about it already?
Does it move? Prof. S.: It is approaching our solar system about 240 kilometers
per second. PICTURE: 240 km directly by the earth! How big is this monsters,? P
rof. S.: It has about ten times the mass of the sun, is so astronomically more o
f a small black hole. PICTURE: The mass of ten suns? That's huge! How can it be
that
this monster was discovered only now? Prof. S.: Black holes emit no radiation, s
o they are hard to find. Discover they can only be a constant and continuous mon
itoring of the entire sky, but for which we have been in two years the funds del
eted. IMAGE: Once again we see the failure of the wrong end of saving policy. Th
e editors of Journal PICTURE calls on behalf of their readers the government to
withdraw these irresponsible saving measures immediately. All the observatories
of the world will judge this night their eyes to this invisible voracious Wrong
of the universe, who raced 240 miles per hour on our earth. At the moment there
is no danger, but we will keep our readers on current developments to date. CZ
The author U.K. would like to say that this picture-Journal reporter writes CZ s
urely considerable nonsense. Prof. Seeger was a little more careful on who he ca
n be interviewed.
6
7
3 The IBH Mission
The rediscovery black hole has received the scientific name IBH 1645 +45 (Isolat
ed Black Hole1 with the celestial coordinates 1645 +45). In no time are the Euro
pean Space Agency ESA go-ahead for the big IBH mission: an unmanned spacecraft t
hat will forge ahead to the next near the black hole. An international team star
ts the work and you, dear reader, dear reader are included. Imagine that you res
earch successful astrophysicist or astronomer for many years the planet. Because
of your great experience with space missions will be taking charge of the contr
ol center. The control center will monitor the flight of the spacecraft and rece
ive data to Earth sparked. Your task is to first build the control center.
IBH Mission
First International Workshop
Grenoble, 1.3.-03.03.2012 Prof. Deepta Panchakshari: In the immediate vicinity o
f a black hole 03/02/2012, 10-11 Clock, Large Hall
Ladies and gentlemen, ... By IBH mission, we will verify Einstein's theory of ge
neral relativity with unprecedented accuracy. Therefore it is necessary to move
into the next near the black hole. A black hole bends space and time around him
so much that everything that comes too close, is captured and ultimately plunges
into the black hole. This is true not only for gas and dust and spaceships, but
also for light. The threshold above which an escape is impossible, is called ho
rizon. IBH 1645 +45 has a horizon with 190 kilometers range. We will send the sp
acecraft from several small research probes into near horizon. We must keep a sa
fe distance, according to my calculations, the research probes on orbits of 250
to 1000 km range are brought. Let me now in the mathematical part of the
Talk first to the Schwarzschild metric and the geodesic equation come ...
1 G = 8πT, Gαβ = Rαβ - 2 gαβ R, αμβ Rαβ = nd R = Rμ Rμ μ α α 1 G = 8πT, Gαβ = R
αβ - 2 gαβ R = Rμ Rαβ αμβ x nd R = Rμ μ ∇ u = 0,€with ˙ = dx / dλ, α α α α βγ
U ∇ u = 0, with ˙ x = dx / dλ, ¨ x + Γ
u
βγ
= 0 ˙ ˙ xx
-1 2 2 2 2 2 ds2 = - 1 - 2M dt 2 + 1 - α 2M rr dr + r (dθ + sin θ dφ). α -1 ∂ Γ
βδ r ∂ Γ βγ 2M Γt Γt tr = rt = M 1-Rα βγδ = γ Γ φφ = - + Γ2 θ (r μ βδ - Γα μδ Γμ
βγ. sin α μγ Γ - 2M) r r2 ∂ x - ∂ xδ


ω2 sin2 θ φ2).
ω1
p, u = p, u1. xα + ¨ 2
    


 IBHte m e ins its ork ith con erence. They
The

eci e to in orm themselves
out l ck holes there, especi
lly since you h
 to o s pl net ry rese rch
ers in these exotic
 celesti l o ies th n ever
 e ore.

In the pror m you c ncel
t the lecture y Pro . P nch ksh ri, possi ly
i icult
lecture, s
Mrs. P.
is
theorist, ut you ill pick out or no the un erst n le p rts  n then t
urn irectly to Mrs. P. to you s n extern l expert ill e v il le.
One y one
-1 P, u ˙ ˙ ¨ = p, u1. Xα + uu = α + ∂ ˙ ∂ kγ = 0.t = - 2M 1 - 2M ¨ Γ βγ xβ x 1
= +2 k R2V, ˙ rt,
 -2 cotθ  φθ. ˙ ˙ r 2 v 1α ∂ μ ∂ μ α v / dλ, ¨ + Γα ˙ ˙ = 0 α β
x γ 1  R, R = R = 8πT, αβ Rαβ = - 2 xx nd R αβ = R μ ∇ uu = 0, with ˙ x = dx
βγ αβ αμβ -1 / 2 ρ0 th ee α α ∂ Γ ∂ Γ xγβδ 3 Rα βγδ = ∂ - δβγ + Γα μγ Γμ βδ - Γ
α μδ Γμ βγ. Γθ rθ = Γθ θr = 1, r ω1 ω2
u = (r/2M - 1) e cosh (t/4M), h l  er/4M sinh (t/4M) or r> φ2M, v = (cos θ θ r/
2M, Γφ rφ = Γφ φr = 1, Γφ θφ = Γ φθ = cot θ. - sin - 1) r





2M ˙ s2 = - r = - t1 M - 2M-t 2 + sin2 2 +2, -2 2 + φθ. 1 2M r θ φ r2 ( θcotθ
˙ ˙ ¨ - r r2 2 + ˙ rrr = - sin2 θ (r - 2M), θ = Γ θ = 1, Γθ = Γ φφ h l  r/4M
Γ φφ θr rθ r
-1
τ = 2.1 × 10 s · g / cm ∂ x θ φ φ
Γ
φφ
= - Sin θ cos θ,
Γ
θφ
= Γ
φθ

= Co θ.
βγ ° + Γαβγ ˙ ˙ α = 0 x xx
∇
u



α α βγ u = 0, ith ˙ = xα / λ, ¨ + Γα βγ ˙ ˙ = 0 x x xx

st tion ry l ck hole, th t is, ithout comp nion st r
8
9
4 The M p Room 

the m them tic l p rt
o Pro . P nch ksh rislecture on l ck holes you sc
While
ri le your session lock i
r ms or the settin up the control. The Pl net r
y Missions ere usu lly  ll ith hue m p o  the pl net's s

covere n entire


ur  ce. Then you coul select the l n in site n the routes o  explor tion ro
ot. For the explor tion o  the l ckhole you re
pl nnin somethin simil r:
m p on hich the or its o  spce pro es re m rke . This m p must represent the
sp ce in the vicinity o  the l ck hole. instruct A ter your return rom the mee

r phic
esiner

tin imme i tely m ke the


so, pl
ns or such sp ce m p ccor
in to your sketches n sen them to Mrs. P., to iscuss the concept ith her.


Pro . D. P nch ksh ri Institute or r vit tion l Physics, Hei el er



Mission Control Director te IBH-D rmst t, D rmst t, 03.10.2012



r Pro . P nch ksh ri, in the
control
De o  the IBH-mission,
 I oul like three
l m p o  your surroun  I m thinkin o 
- imension

in s tt ch the l ck hole.


i ll o  out 3 meters
in i meter, hich is compose o  m ny sm ll Plexil

s sectors (the enclose computer r phicshos the h l -sphere). In such sp ce
m p, e c
n m rk the p ths o
 sp ce pro es. This ives us n overvie o  the mo
vements n looks  y too    

oo ( e h ve to in lly
o er somethin


on TV).

Our

r phic rtist h s cre te templ tes or
ten ol sc le mo el m e o  c r o r ,
hich I ttri ute to you. You c n uil up to sm ll section o  the ll. Wh t



o you think o  the i e ? Sincerely pl nts
10
11


A ter you h ve rouht the letter
to
 Mrs.

P.
on the  y, o the irst co ee, in
vite ll o  you ith your te m n uil mo el o  the sp ce m p.
Puzzle 1: The M p Room 



Instruction:
 1 Tips:
The o r c n en ell hen
the 
ol in lines e ore inscr
i es e sy.
For the hesion points is
est
suite li ui ll-purpose lue. Solve
nt lue 


n
lue sticks

h ve 
 not orke . 2n The components o 
puzzle to e cu

t, ol e n lue
to the l ck lines ith the help o  hite hesive l ps to
  n
Hohlkörperchen.

 3r Insert the Hohlkörperchen

in p r llel so th t ut yello
reen sur  ces o  the s me color, size n sh pe.
12
13


5 The curve sp ce
PROF. DEEPTA PANCHAKSHARI

Mission

 Control

Director te IBH D rmst t Institute or r vit tion l Physics, H

ei el er Hei el er , 15.03.2012
Puzzle 2: The Bl ck Hole 



Instruction:
 1 Tips:
The o r c n en ell hen
the 
ol in lines e ore inscr
i es e sy.€For

 the hesion points is
est
suite li ui ll-purpose lue. Solve

  . 2n The p rts o  t
nt

lue
n lue

sticksh ve not orke
o puzzles re cut, 
ol e n lue
to the l ck lines ith the help o  hite hesive

 l ps to
Hohl
körperchen. 3r Insert the Hohlkörperchen in p r llel so th t ut yello  n r


een sur  ces o  the s me color, size n sh pe.
 

 
De r ..., the  sp ti l m p or the l ck hole is very oo i e. I ree ith y
ou th t the ll ill e n eye-c tcher in the control
room! Ho ever, you must n
ecess rily t ke into ccount th t sp ce is curve stronly ne r the horizon is!


In this l
ck hole m ss is comprise o  ten suns
in n re the size o  city.
In the imme i te vicinity o  the sp ce is curve so stron . Im ine you ere ver







y ne r IBH 1645 +45 n the sectors oul
e your room c r e e or e e n
n
le me sure or nles. I h ve c lcul te or you hich sector orms you nee to



ith templ tes or physic lly correct mo
el o  l ck
in n sen you

here


Lochs2. When I
the ition l nnex me surin templ te or the "sector surve
y" t ( ormul te s thouht experiment). I ppe r reluct nt pe
ntic, ut the



precise escription o  me surements to seeminly unimport nt et ils nunm l is
 


the e ll n in rel tivity theory. Best re r s, Deept P nch ksh ri pl nts



mo el h s the
sc le o  1:1 million.
2 The The inner rim h s 23 inch circum erenc
e n is "just outsi e the horizon, hich h s 19 inch circum erence.
14
15
Pl nt
D. P., 15/03/2012
Me surin templ te or the sectors

(thouht experiment!)


1st In the re to e me
sure
l ttice r meork is uilt.  2n
As experimenter
s e move throu h the ri n me sure the len ths o  the rs n the nle et
   
een them. We kno the sh pe n
size o  e ch ri
cell.







3r We uil the ri cell imension to c r o r .


I  the ri
is in empty sp
ce,  r  y rom ny m

ss, then see the mesh cells
s in your mo el. For my mo el I h ve set in the
le o  the s me l ttice
mi
o
l
ck hole o  ten sol r
m sses. With the s me ri , I me n th t the ri constru
cte in the s me
 y
n lso just re t. Where "e u l" ( little

p tience,

ple
se!), C re ully e ine , h s the olloin me nin: your c r o r mo el ills
sphere ith
sur  ce re o  2700 s u re centimeters. I  one removes the outer
most l yer ri cells, is ll o  1500 s u re inches sur  ce. I  one removes



t
he secon l yer, then
the rem inin
ll 700 s u re inch sur  ce. The thir n
innermost l yer o  ri
cells

surroun

in spheric l c vity ith 200 s u re inc
hes sur  ce. In my c r o r mo el o  the our spheric l sur  ces re the s me s
ize s your.
16
17


Pro . D. P nch ksh ri Institute or r vit tion l Physics, Hei el er



Mission Control Director te IBH-D rmst t, D rmst t, 17.03.2012







L y P nch ksh ri, the mo el is re y! We h ve
lre y
een iscusse
vehemently
outit. But, to e honest,  e re lly h ve un erstoo the curve sp ce yet, 
 e
h ve uilt

there. For us, l ck holes, pl net ry scientists re very exotic o j
ects. An s or the ener l rel tivity theory, hich in
ee
is one o  the most




iicult theories in ener l, you
must un erst n th t e re not ll theorists


, ut pr ctitioners  ho norm  

lly e l ith missile
technolo y, instrument n

t n lysis. M y e you coul help us ith vivi expl n tion? I summ rize our
iscussion toether in short: The to erosp ce enineers in our te m imme
i tely



  
ecl re th t the mo el c n not e riht (t le st not the  y e uilt
it), e
c use o  such P ppkörperchen is  complete ll never. For our irst mo el, hic 
h h ve in the riht colors, e uilt   rom the nine P ppkörperchen c rvin th
t looks like 
piece o  chocol te
om . Th t is, sever l
slices
e mi ht like pi 
eces o  c ke to hemisphere pushe  your mo el, in rk colors, 
e

to ether. For
h
ve lso P ppkörperchen

com ine into
c rvin . But in this c rvin the insi

 
e e e is not perpen icul r to the
  
roun ! Such
pieces o  c ke reve l ny hemisp
here.At irst e thou ht it oul result inste
rin c ke. But it is even o
  
rse: et een nei h orin "pie pieces" hen
pushe  
to ether  ps rem in. Our mech




nic is lso o  the opinion th t the secon mo el lre y P
ppkörperchen o not
it toether properly to c rvin.€In  ct, sm
ll cr cks n  ps still rem in,
no m tter ho e push, too. Civil enineer hol s, hoever, th t the cr cks re


re lly sm ll, n thinks e 18
oul
simply not cut out c re ully enouh. Aout this point, e ere le to r


ee, ec use s lon s you nein n erhält only to P ppkörperchen is, str nely
 
 ilure to reco nize the  
enou h,
never
 ces l ys it to ether   per ectly. Ou
r
secon issue is the volume o  the mo el - n mely, he is too i ! We h ve revie
e the mo
els your me surin templ te: The yello outer sur  ces o  the sectors


(o  P ppkörperchen) re in  ct oth mo els the s me size. So, the to lls th
e s me sur  ce. The s me  oes or the yello inner sur  ces, ie lso the recesse




c
vity h s
the s me sur  ce in oth mo els.
Then
e h ve notice th t the lue
 
n reen si es re re ter th n in the secon
mo el in the irst. Conse uently


,
e ch sector l rer volume th n the
correspon in sector in the irst mo el,
n the s me pplies to the complete mo el rom ll sectors. We h ve t o spheres 
ith e u l sur  ce, ut
i erent c p city. In other or
s, the secon
 ll is
 



i er insi e th n outsi e. The he o  our computer
center,  hich is home
o m
them tici
n sees this s not
pro lem, he s i
somethin  out non-Eucli e n e

ometry

n m them tics th t e ls  ith these
i e s or some time. He h s lso tr
 m I to un
ers
ie
to expl in to us the c use, ut is eyon my im in tion, ho

t n th t,  ple se, th t in spheric l sur  ce o  the ssoci
te
sphere
volume i
s there, ut more?
Our rchitect h s, moreover, hi hly  muse ,
n he vertises

,he s ys, ple se ith the  ct th t the
houses re i er insi
e th n
outsi e,
 I in your
ut

h s never thou ht th t nyone
coul
t ke seriously.
mo el o  cu
rve sp ce very interestin n it oul necess rily e constructe or the
cont
rol, ut I h ve yet to m ke convincin. The people rom
computer science ep rtm
ent think th t e ouht to just stick ith the irst mo el th t everyone un
erst





n s n looks just s e uti ul. An my he o  the Dep rtment o  Pu lic te rin
 his h ir t the thouht th t they must expl in to journ lists h t they've ot



exctly the
ri ht ... For your continue support, I oul

e very r te ul. M y
e e coul meet occ sion lly or lunch? Best re r s 

19


6 Are L n


In the It li  n rest ur nt tol Mrs. P nch kshri: "Wh t is

curve sp ce, one c
n im ine

r phic lly, usu lly e he r out the olloin st tement:" his



or crooke s "A
one- imension l line c n e just like this Serviet iese sp het

ti there, to- imension l
sur  ce just like this one
lettuce le , the three-

imension l sp ce te or curve
, it is e u lly, only 

one imension hi her.
"" C n
you im ine? Just s curve sur  ce, only one imension hiher? -
I o not, r
nkly. But sometimes helps ch ne o  position: We live
in three- imension
l
sp ce, lso c
ll them 'sp ce eins'. Simil rly, one coul im ine orl th t
h
s only to imensions,

ie sur
 ce. A cre ture th t lives
in such n re ou
l h ve ith the i e o 
curve sur  ce h ve the s me i iculties s e
s

sp  

ce cre
 ture ith curve sp  ce. "" Perh ps you kno the novel"Fl tl n " y
E in A ott rom the century e 
ore  l st.
Not? Wit, I h ve
the ook here. The
novel is set in n re just orl . A ott escri es the orl vie o  n re
ein s ollos:
"

"I c ll our orl Fl tl n (...).  eit use
ehntes sheet o  p per on 
  Im ine
  
hich
i ures (...) (...) reely ck
n orth, ut ithout
the ility

to rise
eyon or to  sink them, such s

sh o s (...

). L y re er,
coin mi le o  one
o  your t les in the room, en yoursel  o
n out it n look:
it ill ppe
r s
circle.
No 

pull yoursel  ck
to the e
e o  the t
le n o ith your
 ce eeper n eeper (me nin you o more
n more knole e o  the circumst n
ces o  the  

country re
re chin sur  ce), n you ill see th t the coin ppe rs
more n more
ov l. An in lly, i  you rou htyour eye ex ctly on the level o
 the t le e e (so th t thou rt
so to spe k, ecome territori l st tes),
the
coin ill no lon  
 er ppe r ov
l, n , i  you c n reco nize it, one
to e m e st
r i ht. "(E . A ott: Fl tl n , Klett 1982 [tr nsl tion: Fl tl n , 1884])




Dimension 'You coul then o nothin. Even i  the sur  ce orl here you live,
 



someho
en s into thir imension,€is it or you in the ront re only, ck
, le t n riht. "" Here,
t ke this little c terpill 

r onyour  vies lettuce
le

. You c n cr l roun on the sur  ce, looks n pro ly only intereste
in ell next to their environment. As Aott's sur  ce cre tures it is restricte





to the to imensions o  the le  sur  ce. The  ct th t the le
 is curve ,

oes not concern them. W
it, I'll sho it ccur tely. "" W
iter! Di you h ppen t
o p ir o  scissors n e  n pkins there? "A someh t ism ye
-lookin, ut
 


rin s in university ton o  some ccustome  iter h t you  nt n Mrs. P n
ch ksh
ri herumzukritzeln
e ins on  n pkin. "Look, very system tic c terpill
r
coul come up ith the i e
n  t her in nothin


 ut lettuce le  sectors.



I r here once le . "She 


r s
circle

n
ivi e it into sectors. "Simil
rly, one c n cr t curve l e n is ivi e into sectors, so
..." With your
c mer t
ke e shots, hich converts your ssist nt the next y in e uti u


lly printe p per mo els.



"Im ine
or moment im ine th t you 
oul  live
in such n re
, coul move li


ke sh o ,
only in this
re . You coul ck n
orth, le t n move ri  ht,

ut not up or on. You
coul 
lso look not up or o n, not even thinkin  out i

t.
The terms ' ove' n ' elo h ve' or you, tot lly insini ic nt. With 'th
ir 20 21


Puzzle 3: S l Le ves

Instruction: 1 These p per mo els you c n tinker l t
(li ht reen) n
curv






e
( rk reen) lettuce le . The
sectors re the curve l e is ition lly
s
 
l
sep
r tely, 
t the puzzle.

2n The l t sheet (li ht reen cut). The curve
hite

l e ( rk reen)
Cut, ol n lue the l


ck lines
ith the help o 
hesive lps. 3r The sectors o  the curve l e (cut rk reen) sep r tely. T
ry to com ine them into coherent sheet!




irst sheet
"The is l t here. You see,
i  you usein
n erschnei en e ch sector

n then

mere it just rises. The secon le  is curve . Here I hve cut curve
l e into sectors. Try to
ssem le, the
sectors


on the l t t le,
" little
puzzle ith the sectors roun the curve l e n
relize th t
they o not it
toether. "An intelli   

ent en ineer c terpill r oul e pretty esper te i  you
c re no lon er n e le  into sever lpieces on the t le its to
  
 ether. I  y
ou re tkin the position o  sur  ce ein, then th t's re lly un eliev le.
For us, ein 

the hole sp ce is o course uite cle r th t one c n notprop t

e in curve  sur  ce o  the pl ne ithout rippin them. The  ct th t e see ly
in, not ec use e re slihtly more intellient th n the c terpill r, ut th t
e c n look t the p per rom outsi
e, rom 'hiher
imension' rom. You un
o





u te ly h ve your c r o r mo els o  it? "22 23


7 R uml n





They p ck the to- imension
l c r o r mo els o
 improvise  e ore. "This is ex

ctly the s me! The irst mo el,
hich correspon s to the ri ht colors,
the
l
t sheet. It shos prt not curve sp ce you h ve cut like pie into in ivi u l
sectors. These c n e no 
ps in the
rest ur nt
toether  in here,
since sp ce
is

lso
( lmost)

not curve . The mo el in the rk colors correspon to the cur
ve l e n sho s piece curve
sp ce. Im ine hue  ll-sh pe
c ke to the




l ck hole

roun

outsi
e.
It is ex ctly like
its counterp rt rom
the
not curv
e sp ce ivi e into in ivi u l sectors,  n they result in re uce sc le, th
en
your P ppkörperchen here on the t le. Just s the pieces it toether the cu



rve l e on l t t
le top, it the pieces o  curve sp ce
to ether here in
the rest ur nt not curve ! Enl re to sc le ck ut they coul e roupe
rou







n the l ck hole completely roun . Or vice
 vers

: Coul e hve
sc
le -sc le
l ck hole here t the center
o  the c r o r mo el  set, it oul
en the sp
ce so th t the m tch oul P ppsektoren. This 'mini- l ck
hole
oul h ve to' th
ree
times the m ss o  the e rth h ve. This me 
   ns
you oul nee three pl nets in
 e re in the
Er röße the size 
o  n
or n e crush up to en the sp ce so! No

position o  the e n c n not im ine hy the sectors ill it roun the l




ck hole roun

n not here
on E rth.We c n not our re o  ' tch out'
n se
e€
here it en s. "Th t soun s re son le. They pl y it ith
the curve sp ce
n come ck  
in to the pro lem o 
l
r e volume,. "Both mo els represent s
ection o  the room ith the s me outsi e imensions. The yello exterior sur  ce



s o the t o mo els re i entic l. One mi
ht ssume th t even then the volume mu
st e the s me. Look  
in
t the t
o mo els o  the le ves. Both h ve the s me l
evel. As ith the sp ti
lmo
el coul e close to the s me re . But you c n cle
rly see th t the curve l e h s
much l rer re . I  your c t  nts to kno
  
ho i is the sheet
th t
they inten to e t, it's not
enou h,once

they rumkr
elt to the p per n in s
the circum erence. You nee to kno ition lly ho
 the le  is stronly curve . 24


 
The other  y
they coul
etermine

the curv ture o  the le , y irst
me surin

the volume n then etermine the sur  ce, or ex mple, y e ts it n then r
 up the  l nce. W tch on your s l
, the c terpill r is pretty  r, "
esp i





rin  iter rins you ne s l , you  nt the stu ies
o not  istur the
c te
  
rpill r. "Just s e c n hen e me sure the sp
ce roun the l ckhole, eterm
 
 its curv ture! Im ine
th t! So  r, e coul
explore
ine only the rely
 me sur
le curv ture o  sp ce n time
ne r the Sun. An no e h ve re l l
ck hole
 
, "While Mrs.
P nch ksh riexcite or thene Erkenntismö lichkeiten n litt
 out scr ps o 
le irrit te  iters every here zus mmen e t on the loor

lyin 
p per, remem er th t
it ill
t ke, un ortun tely,


some ec es e ore the sp cec
r t it T ret
met n stu ie the l ck hole irectly, ith its enormous curv t
ure o  sp ce n time. There ill e m ny interestin lunch ith Mrs. P.
t the
next opportunity you h ve to sk them h t it is the m tter ith the curve time
in comin ...
25
8 B ck to the present ... 
The st r V4641 Sr in the constell tion S itt rius h s n
uno trusive comp nion
th t until recently  s unkno

n. In Septem er 1999, he tol himsel : A short, i
 
 y emission o  r i tion, these r ther insi
ntense X-r  ni ic nt
str s tempor r
ily the rihtest X-r y source in the sky, c n only e expl ine y the  ct th
t he h s l ck hole s comp nion. App rently,  s h s come
rom this  st r in
the c tchment
re o  the l ck hole. In
circul r motion roun the l ck hole,
it is stre me continuously to the insi e, it  s extremely hot, n
is in lly



p rti lly plune into the l ck hole n  s shot p rtly in the orm o  ultr -
 st jets into sp ce. This lck hole is the Sol r
System, it is 1600 liht ye r
s  y rom us. The thickest l ck hole in our imme i te cosmic environment sits
in the center o  the Milky W y in 26 000 li   y. It h s m ss 2.5 mi
  ht ye rs 
llion
 times s lr e s the sun. Also this l ck hole is invisi
le in itsel . It
etrys itsel  ut y the  ct th t the st rs revolve
roun in his environment 
Our ch nces o  sen in 
c n e, just s the sun's pl nets.

sp ce pro e into
l ck
hole, ne r hich one coul me sure the
ri ht curve sp ce, re currently n
ot oo . But Einstein's rel
tivity theory pre icts not only th t m
ss curvessp
ce, ut lso ho the curve sp
ce e ects.
For ex mple, in curve spce
li ht
runs on other lines not curve
s
in thir So i  st r y its m
ss
en s the
sp ce, then the liht
is e lecte in its vicinity ", this is c lle e lection.
In the sun the liht e lection
 isso sm ll th t they
c n not o serve
ith the



eye. But it h s
een me sure ith re t precision, n ully con irme
our i e
s out the
curve sp ce ne r the sun. Further
out
in sp cec n lso irectly o
serve the e lection o  liht. I  et
een us n ist nt

l xy
is
l re m s
s, then the

liht
th t comes rom the ist nt  l xy, is e lecte n e see th
e  l xy istorte
into n rro rc. In the picture re sever l such rms re s

een. The li ht e lectin    
  m
ss is in this c se "cluster", l r e roup o  l
xies, hich

is lso un i se ( ut) on the im e to see re. There re pl ces in
our orl , pply     

here other eometric l l s, s e kno rom our experience o
n E rth. The curve sp ce is re lity. 




3 More precisely, p rt rom the m ss en s sp ce n time,€ n exten the liht



p ths in curve sp ce-time other th n in not curve .
26
27

loss ry

Force (
r vity) The cl ssic l escription o  r vity oes ck to Is c Neton:
Every o y exerts n ttr ctive orce
on e chother, the r vit tionskr
 t.4 So
or ex mple: The e rth moves roun the sun, ec use it is ttr cte y
the sun.
The Netoni ntheory  

is only
correct

i  the e k r vit tion l orce n the mo
ene
vement o  the o y is  slo . To y's escription o  r vity

is the theory o 

r l
rel tivity y Al ert Einstein. For e k r vity n slo motion o  the o y

is i entic l to the Ne toni n theory. It is
lso true i  the r
vity is extremel
y stron ( or ex mple,
ne r l ck holes) n hen movin the o y very uickly (
 
ie ith ne rly the spee o  li
ht). In the
theory o
 rel tivity is the ex mple
ove: The
sun is the sp ce n time roun

them en s. The E rth moves throuh t
he curve sp ce-time. It is movin he  t ll times, ut since the sp ce-time
curv ture, results in tr ck t hich the sun circles the e rth. Spee
o  liht



, liht tr vels t spee o  pproxim tely 300000 kilometers
per secon , ie i
th out  illion miles n hour. This is the solute spee
limit l s o n tur
e: n o ject th t h s m ss,it c n re ch or even
excee . Rel tivity The ener
l
Theory o  Rel tivity, y Al ert Einstein complete in 1916, is currently ccep
 
 o  r vity (see
r vit tion). The
te
theory  Speci l Theory o  Rel tivity o  190
5 escri es sp ce, time n motion in the
sence o  r vity. Extremely  st mov
ements (ie movements ith ne rly the spee o  liht)  s irst
escrie
correct


ly y the Speci l Theory o  Rel tivity. Sun is

st r o  me ium size rom type
th t
is common in the Milky W y. It is hun re times s l re s E rth n
h




s the reihun ertt usen  che m ss.
In iures: Their i meter is 1.4
million km

, m ss 2 · 1030k. The sun orme 4.5 illion ye rs o rom clou o   s n
ill tot l 10 illion ye rs shine s st r, hile nucle r usion re ctions t k


e pl ce insi
e them. I  the nucle r uel in the center  is lo, the sun ill sel
l into re i nt st r th t re ches the e rth's or it. Soon ter the nucle r r
e ctions,

the  



4 Accor in to Neton is the orce eteen to o ies ith m sses m n m, the
ist nce r rom e ch other 1 2, K = M1 m2 / r 2, here = 6.67 ° 10-11 m3 / k/
 
s2 Ne ton 'sche r vit tion l const nt is.



outer shell o   s is ejecte n orms color ul pl net ry ne ul , 
hile the c
ore
coll pse o  the sun until he re ches
the  size o 
the e rth:
It pro uces 
h
ite   
r , hich is initi lly very hot n ri ht n then coole over time n
over e ker liht.
28
29


Im es n im e sources
Cover The constell tion Cent urus ith the Sol r System st r Alph Cent uri Sp c
e Telescope

ScienceInstitute (STScI) The supernov remn nt C ssiopei A N tion
l R io Astronomy O serv tory (NRAO / AUI / NSF), the constell
 tion Orion Sp ce
Telescope Science Institute (STScI) The spir l  l xy N C 4414 Sp ce
Telescope S
cience Institute (STScI) The Control o  the Cluster mission, D rmst t Europe n
Sp ce Aency (ESA), chocol te om Ai
C é-Kon
itorei Wien The  l xy cluster

A ell 2218 Sp ce Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Liter

ture

E in A. A ott: Fl tl n
, A Rom nce o  M ny Dimensions, 1884. erm n tr nsl tio
n: , 1982. Je n-Pierre Petit: "The
 pl in, A novelmulti-

imension l, Klett Verl
 

l ck hole", Vie e Verl , 1995. From the ook series "The A ventures o  Ansel




m Wüßteern. A physics-comic. KipS. Thorne, "Curve sp ce n rpe time," Kn

Much in orm tion out
l ck holes. (Un ortun tely out
ur, 1994.  o  print, the E
nlish e ition o  "Bl ck Holes n Time W rps"
is still
v il le.) Corvin Z hn,
Ute Kr us: http:// .tempolimit-lichteschin ikeit. e text, im es n
movie


s to speci l n ener l rel tivity.
P. 4 p. 5 p. 6 p. 8 p. 18 p. 27
Technic
l Det ils
 

The mo el or the re roun the l ck hole metric is se on the l ck pl te
ith centr l m ss Sch rzschil
r
ius rs = 2.8 cm. The puzzle
ivi
es sp ce


-like hypersur  ce
o  const
nt Sch rzschil time into
sectors. This is the hype

rsur  ce ith  ri o  ots on the l ck pl
te coor in
tes ri = i · 1.25 rs, θ
j = j · 30 ◦, k = φk
· 30 ◦ excessive.

The mo el inclu es
the sectors or i = 1
.4,

j = 0 k = 0 .3 n .1. (The ivision is the re outsi e o  r = 1.25 rs limi
te .) The len ths o  the sector e
es re the lenths o  the sp celike eo
esics
  

 


et

een
the ri points.
From  the e e len ths n the con ition th t the tr pe
zoi l
si e sur   ces

shoul e mirror, clerly ollo s the sh pe o  the sectors.
The

mo el


is se on the principle o  Re e-C lculus, in hich the sp ce-time
 
is ivi e into
sm ll elements,


e ch o  hoseintern l eometry  is l t. The
 sec
tors
o  the mo el re un erstoo in the s me y, to the ho y expenses to e li

mite , hoever, they re so l re th
t this sp ce-time is only rel tively cru
e pproxim tion to the Sch rzschil sp cetime.
30
31